1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to hard disk drive and disk array technology and, more particularly, the invention relates to the use of a multi-element display to display disk drive activity data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Disk arrays provide vast amounts of storage as well as flexibility in speed and reliability. These arrays are often configured to operate as RAID arrays, otherwise knows as Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks, to provide added speed and reliability. Disk arrays can also be configured as JBODs (Just a Bunch of Disks) in which several disks are used to provide large storage capacities. As system administrators take on the responsibility of managing increasing numbers of disk arrays, it becomes increasingly difficult to quickly verify the proper operation of all of the disks or disk arrays for which they are responsible.
Various types of monitoring mechanisms exist for assisting system administrators in monitoring disk drive and disk array activity. For example, disk drives typically include indicator LEDs (light-emitting diodes) that light up during disk activity. In addition, various types of storage maintenance tools exist that allow system administrators to remotely monitor disk arrays and other storage resources over a computer network. Although these mechanisms are helpful, they do not provide an efficient and intuitive display method for indicating the types of disk activity data commonly needed by system administrators, programmers, and other users.